


But John!  It’s For A Case!

by cdelbridge



Category: johnlock - Fandom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-22
Updated: 2019-06-24
Packaged: 2020-05-16 09:40:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19315576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cdelbridge/pseuds/cdelbridge
Summary: As is just about everything in John’s life, new experiences result from the statement, “it’s for a case”.





	1. Chapter 1

“John!”, the consulting detective was racing up the stairs of 221B, calling for his husband as he ran, “John! We must go! Time is of the essence!”

His spouse had been sitting at the computer, staring mindlessly at his blog, when Sherlock burst in. It was day three of an unprecedented summer heatwave and John was not dealing well.

“What now Sherlock?”, John asked listlessly. “It’s too hot to move.”

”John, focus! Listen to me, we have a case! A very good one in fact. But we have to get moving.” Sherlock was moving around the flat as he spoke, collecting bits that he thought they might need. “NSY just called me and time is critical John.”

When John still didn’t move, Sherlock said, “It’s Lestrade! He’s been taken, John.”

~~~~~~

“What do you mean Lestrade’s been taken?”, John asked his husband. They were in a cab, heading to Lestrade’s last known location. “Please explain!”

Sherlock tapped his fingers restlessly against his thigh. “From what we know, today is Lestrade’s day off and he was using it to buy a present for a friend. He goes to the store, parks his car in front and goes inside. Problem is he never came out. He’s not in the store, the clerk swears he didn’t see him and his phone has gone dead.”

”Wow,”, John thought for a moment. “Aren’t they making a big fuss out of this? He can’t have been gone that long. Maybe there’s a perfectly logical explanation for this?”

”The person he’s shopping for is my brother, John. He’s dating Mycroft.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More abduction details, much to John’s disgust.

The cab pulled as close as possible to their objective but in the end they walked several blocks due to the official vehicles blocking the way. 

John was still trying to process the news that Lestrade was dating his brother-in-law. Um, since when? How did I miss that? And finally, yuck!

He and Sherlock stopped in front of a shop with blacked out windows and a solid looking door. John was trying to figure out which storefront would have brought their friend here when the solid looking door opened disgorging Mycroft.

John couldn’t control himself, “A porn store! Lestrade was shopping at a porn store! For a gift for your brother? I may never be able to look either one in the eye again!”, he whispered fiercely.

Sherlock smiled and said softly, “They’ve been extremely discreet so I’m not sure anyone knows. Even I’m not exactly sure when it all started but I think six weeks ago.” They were drawing even with Mycroft so stopped talking.

”Mycroft.”, Sherlock acknowledged. “Any news?”

Mycroft looked the same as always, dapper and aloof, but John thought he caught some distress in the man. Mouth a little more pinched, mannerisms a tad off. No one who didn’t know him well would have noticed it however. John wondered how serious the relationship was.

”No, nothing. The cameras on the street show him entering the building but not leaving. The cameras inside are not working which doesn’t seem right for the type of store this is. The clerk swears he never saw Greg, I mean Lestrade, at all. See what you can get out of him.”

Mycroft held the door open for them to precede him and they entered the store. It wasn’t as bad as John had expected being somewhat brighter than such places usually were. He figured this could be to aid the police or to keep the unwary from stepping in or touching something they’d rather not. Either way he was glad to see the lights. Rows and rows of merchandise ran off a counter that held a cash register and a phone (and probably a ballbat for the unruly customers). A frightened, scruffy looking kid was behind the counter.

Sherlock walked up to the counter and looked the kid over. He then took a gloved finger and trailed it over the glass fronted counter. Raising his fingers to his nose, he sniffed and nodded. Getting down on his haunches, he examined the underside of the counter and the floor. Standing up, he dusted his hands off and turned to his brother.

“Check the basement. There’s a trapdoor underneath the counter where he’s sitting. Lestrade was here, you can see a few fibers from his favorite shirt caught on the door. The kid probably isn’t lying that he didn’t see Greg, his identical twin works here as well. I’m guessing the brother realized they had a cop in their midst and panicked, mistaking Lestrade’s intent. They have a profitable drug business running here and were afraid the police were on to it.”

The cops removed the kid who kept saying he hadn’t done anything. The stool he had been sitting on was tossed aside and the sides of the trapdoor became visible. Hauling the door up and open, the officers called down but got no response.

Grabbing a flashlight, Sherlock descended swiftly followed by the others. There was no one there.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “We have to find him Sherlock! I just found him, I can’t lose him now”

“No!!!”, a howl of anguish escaped Mycroft. “Sherlock, you’ve got to find him! I’ve just found him myself, I can’t lose him now!” Mycroft clutched his younger brother and shook him.

Sherlock stood this for all of three seconds then grabbed Mycroft’s frantic hands and held them tight. “Mycroft!”, he yelled. “Calm down. I’ll find him. Take a deep breathe!” Looking over his brother’s shoulder at John, he telegraphed a message to his spouse. John immediately came up, put his arm around his brother-in-law and started talking in a low, soothing voice.

Sherlock started slowly walking the basement. On his second time around, he stopped, walked up to the wall and pushed. A panel moved aside and a loud rushing noise filled the space. The detective poked his head into the blackness and urged John forward with his hand.

”This tunnel seems to head down to the river. Probably use it to smuggle drugs. You can see drag marks on the floor. I’m guessing they hit Lestrade over the head to knock him out, threw him down the steps and then drugged him to keep him under control.”, he picked up a used syringe from the tunnel floor and held it up. “Follow me John but be careful.”

John followed his spouse into the tunnel, getting his bearings quickly. “I thought you said it’s never twins?”, he said softly.

“It’s not this time either John. It’s triplets.” They were coming to the end of the tunnel and saw a couple dark shapes ahead dragging something behind them. “Careful.”

“Triplets??”, John whispered fiercely.

Sherlock waved him to silence.

”Damn, he’s fucking heavy. Can’t we just shoot him or something and get it over with?”, said one of the shapes.

“Don’t be stupid! We drag him to the river and tip him in. He drowns and drifts downstream and no one will connect him to us.”

”Yeah I guess that will work.”, the first shape reluctantly said. “We need to hurry up though. Arch was really nervous when we left him.”

”He’s a pussy! Are you even sure he’s our brother?”, the two shapes laughed loudly.

Sherlock and John let the shapes get to the end of the tunnel before they made a move. The brothers had dropped their load at the mouth of the tunnel and were stretching their backs. While their attention was elsewhere, the spouses launched themselves at their quarry.

After a (very) brief struggle, the brothers were subdued and cuffed. John had not been surprised to see Mycroft holding Lestrade tightly to his chest, tears running down his face, telling him he’d be just fine.

~~~~~~~

Epilogue

London Daily Times, evening edition

Three bodies were pulled out of the Thames today, bound with duct tape and shot in the back of the head, execution style. The three bodies appear to resemble each other but further identification is pending an official autopsy. The manner of death suggests possible drug connections.


End file.
